Do Your Own Growing

Faith is something that cannot be inherited from someone else. Others influence us by planting various seeds into our hearts and our minds, but we choose whether to water and nourish those seeds or to ignore them. No one other than ourselves is responsible for nourishing the seeds we have been given, and we cannot force the seeds of faith to grow in others. Our faith must grow from within us. Everyone has been given a limited amount of seeds to be responsible for. We either nourish the seeds we have been given or they will wither and die. 

You have to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.

Even Jesus had to do His own growing. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Luke 2:52 (NKJV). Of course, Jesus had to grow physically, but He also grew in wisdom and social reputation. Growth in every area of life seems to be something Jesus put on as part of being human. Luke 2:41-47 says that Jesus was amazing the teachers in the Temple, but He was also asking questions and learning. We can follow that example by asking questions to stimulate our growth. The key is asking the right questions and listening - really listening - for the answers.

We cannot inherit our righteousness from someone else.

Righteousness means right living, which is a state of personhood more than a list of activities. Our own righteousness is not good enough, so we have to continually put on Christ and His righteousness. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV). We become righteous when we put on Christ in our lives, no one else can put Christ on for us. We have to daily, actively die to self so we can live for Christ. No one else can force us to put on Christ and put off ourselves.